Relief Law on Forced Sterilization: Compensation Must Be Ensured after Many Years of Suffering

Editorial

14:59 JST, November 12, 2024

It is an extremely serious matter that the worth of people’s lives was judged differently in the name of “public interest.” The central and local governments must sincerely face the suffering of the victims and do their utmost to ensure that they are properly compensated.

A law to relieve victims who were forced to undergo sterilization under the now-defunct Eugenic Protection Law has been established for the government to provide compensation to such victims.

The new law calls for compensation of ¥15 million to each person who underwent surgery and ¥5 million each to their spouses, as well as ¥2 million each to those who underwent an abortion.

The old law, which was enacted in 1948 and existed until 1996, allowed sterilization surgeries on the grounds of disability or hereditary disease, with the aim of “preventing the birth of inferior offspring.” Prefectural governments and doctors determined whether the surgery was appropriate, and it is thought that around 25,000 people were forced to undergo the procedures.

In July of this year, the Supreme Court ruled on lawsuits filed by victims that the defunct law violated the Constitution, which stipulates the dignity of the individual and equality under the law. The new law was created in response to this ruling in order to provide relief also to those who did not participate in the lawsuits.

There are probably some victims who are still unable to speak out for fear of prejudice. It is also possible that the content of the relief law is not being fully conveyed to people with conditions such as disabilities. It is crucial for the central and local governments to meticulously disseminate information on the law to individuals who are eligible.

For some of the victims, materials such as surgery records are still held by prefectural governments. For this reason, the legal teams representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuits are requesting that administrative bodies send individual notifications to the eligible victims, while taking privacy into consideration.

To send out individual notifications, cooperation among such parties as municipalities that manage family registers, hospitals and facilities for people with disabilities where the victims live is essential. The victims are getting older, so it is important for each local government to explore appropriate ways to notify them.

In 2019, the government established a program to provide a one-time payment of ¥3.2 million each to the victims of forced sterilization.

Under the new relief law, they will become eligible to receive compensation in addition to that lump-sum payment. Local governments and other organizations should work to ensure that people who have already received the lump-sum payment do not get the mistaken idea that this makes them ineligible for the new compensation.

The forced sterilization surgeries under the defunct Eugenic Protection Law are said to be the nation’s greatest human rights violation since the end of World War II. This must be engraved in history so as not to repeat similar mistakes in the future.

The government has said it will investigate the actual circumstances of past surgeries and discrimination. Why did it take so long to abolish the old law that caused so much suffering for the victims? Society as a whole needs to reflect.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 12, 2024)